


A Dazzling Haze

by alistoney



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Cats, Drinking, Fluff, Friendship, Human AU, M/M, Malec Secret Santa 2019, Professor!Magnus, meet cute, professor!izzy, vet!alec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21913114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alistoney/pseuds/alistoney
Summary: Magnus’ cat is in labor and he and Isabelle are definitely not qualified to deliver kittens.Good thing Alec is.
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood, Magnus Bane & Isabelle Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 30
Kudos: 282
Collections: The Malec Secret Santa - Edition 2019





	A Dazzling Haze

**Author's Note:**

> For my lovely Secret Santa giftee! You said you liked fluff and Magnus and Izzy friendship so I decided to run with both. I hope you like it!! <3
> 
> Title from Lover by Taylor Swift

“Hey, don’t hog the wine.” 

Magnus rolls his eyes and twists where he’s already lying sprawled out on his couch, so that he can push the bottle of  r osé towards Izzy. 

Magnus watches her pour out a generous amount and down it in a few long sips before she joins him on the couch, an arm over her eyes. 

“Remind me never to make my final short answer again.”

It’s the end of the fall semester and Magnus and Izzy have convened in Magnus’ loft to celebrate getting their grades into the system on time. In Magnus’ case, two minutes before they were due. 

“Only if you remind me not to assign lab reports in the last week,” he replies. He can still see the titration graphs when he closes his eyes. 

He and Izzy have been working together as college professors for almost two years now and while she’s a good amount younger than him, they’ve become good friends. 

It’s almost a tradition at this point to buy copious amounts of wine and complain about their classes once the semester is over. 

“We torture these poor students don’t we,” Izzy mutters, taking a large gulp of wine and closing her eyes.

“All in the name of learning, my dear.” 

Magnus leans forwards to refill his now empty glass, humming in content. 

“Hey Magnus,” Izzy says after a moment, and Magnus looks over to the other side of the couch where Izzy is now sat up straight, “I think there’s something wrong with your cat.”

Magnus follows her line of sight to the corner of the room where Chairman has been most of the night . Magnus had rescued Chairman from a back alley almost a month ago now. He has been stalking around that corner for a week now and Magnus can’t for the life of him figure out why. 

Magnus exchanges a look with Izzy when Chairman plops onto the floor and starts making loud meowing noises. He’s never made this much noise before. 

“Is he okay?” Izzy asks, eyebrows climbing up into her hairline when Chairman makes another loud sound. 

“I—I don’t know?” 

He gets up and walks over to Chairman who has made himself comfortable in the corner and is still meowing loudly. 

He looks like he’s breathing hard and faster than normal. Magnus worries his lip between his teeth and reaches out to the cat. 

Izzy is behind him and she has her phone in her hand. 

“My brother is a vet,” she says, “maybe I should call him.” 

Magnus studies Chairman. His breathing  is  worrisome even if he pushes into Magnus’ hand affectionately and meows loudly. 

“Yeah,” he murmurs, “that’s probably a good idea. Better safe than sorry.” 

Magnus scratches under Chairman's chin and murmurs softly to him while Izzy talks to her brother on the phone. She takes a photo of Chairman to send to him and when he sees Izzy’s eyes widen he feels his heart sink. 

Izzy disconnects the call and Magnus is on his feet in a second. 

“What did he say?” 

Izzy presses her lips together and looks at Chairman before looking back at Magnus. 

“Well. Alec thinks Chairman is in labor.” 

Magnus’ eyes widen and he grabs Izzy’s arm. 

“What? He can’t be in labor. He’s not pregnant.  What? ”

Magnus shakes his head and paces away from Izzy. This can’t be right. He’s not qualified to take care of newborn kittens. 

“I hate to break it to you Magnus, but I don’t think Chairman is a  he .” 

Magnus looks back at Chairman who is now lying stretched out in the corner, still breathing fast. 

“Well shit , ” He mutters under his breath. 

“How the fuck did you not know your cat was  pregnant ?” Izzy asks.

“I don’t know!” Magnus throws up his arms and spins to face her, “I just thought she was a bit overweight. I’m sorry for trying to enforce body positivity.” 

Izzy laughs and Magnus sends her a glare. 

“This is not a laughing matter Isabelle,” he warns, “I am  not  qualified to deliver kittens.” 

Izzy laughs again and throws a hand over his shoulder. 

“Don’t worry. I texted Alec your address. He’s on his way.” 

Magnus lets out a relieved breath and drops back onto the couch. 

“Thank god.” 

***

Magnus is sitting in the corner with Chairman when the doorbell rings. 

He and Izzy had set up a cardboard box lined with towels for Chairman in the corner and she’d taken up residence in it. 

Now that Magnus is looking for it, he can see that she is definitely pregnant. He’s not sure  how he didn’t think there was something up earlier. 

Izzy gets up to let her brother in while Magnus stays with Chairman, petting her head softly every little while. 

He looks up when Izzy and Alec walk into the living room and freezes for a second when his eyes land on Alec. 

He’s  tall is the first thing that pops into his head. Followed quickly by  beautiful . 

Magnus lets his lips turn up into a smile and he gets to his feet.

Alec drops a bag of supplies down near the couch and Magnus holds a hand out for him to shake. 

“Magnus Bane,” he says smoothly, “I didn’t realize such striking beauty ran in the family.” 

He flicks his gaze up at Alec’s face, smirking when he finds a faint flush dusting his cheeks, and then looks at Isabelle who stands in the corner looking absolutely delighted. 

Alec pulls his hand back and moves it behind his back. 

“Alec Lightwood,” he says with a small smile, “how’s your cat doing?”

Magnus deliberately spins and on his heel towards where Chairman is lying in the box they’d set out and shimmies his shoulders once before throwing a glance over his shoulder at Alec. 

“She seems okay,” he pauses, waiting for Alec to look at Chairman and then back to him, “but you’re the expert here.” 

Alec lets out a breath that sounds a little bit like a laugh and Magnus bites his lip to hold back a smile. 

“Usually they don’t need much help other than some encouragement,” Alec says, crouching down and murmuring something low and sweet to Chairman. 

Izzy comes over to stand by Magnus, while Alec checks out Chairman’s condition and Magnus bumps his shoulder with hers accusingly. 

“You didn’t tell me your brother was  hot ,” he whispers.

Izzy snickers under her breath and Magnus glares before elbowing her in the side.

“Ow,” she mutters, still laughing. 

Alec looks over his shoulder at the commotion and Magnus sends him an innocent wave. 

He grins when Alec blushes and returns the wave with a smile. 

***

The first kitten arrived about an hour later. 

Magnus holds his breath until the tiny thing makes a high pitched meowing sound and then can’t help but smile. 

Alec looks over at him with bright eyes. 

The kitten is so tiny. It’s fur is mussed and wet but Magnus can  feel himself falling in love with it. There’s no way he’s going to be able to give any of them up. 

Alec is biting his lip and watching him out of the corner of his eye as if he knows exactly what Magnus is thinking. 

He’s probably done this so many times that he does. 

Ten minutes later a second kitten arrives and Chairman gets to work bathing it while the first kitten nestle s  into her stomach. 

“They’re so small,” Magnus murmurs and Alec smiles. 

“Don’t get too used to it,” he says, “they grow fast.” 

Magnus can’t imagine these babies who aren’t even as big as his palm growing ever. 

After the third kitten arrives, Chairman meows loudly and Magnus can’t help but chuckle. 

He brings a hand up to pet her head at the same time Alec does and their fingers knock together for a second.

It’s cliche. So  completely  cliche that Magnus should be annoyed, but warmth from the touch climbs up his arm and he and Alec’s eyes catch on each other for a long second. 

Alec blinks a couple times, smiling a sort of half smile, and then looks away back down at Chairman.

“She’s doing good,” he says quietly and Magnus wonders if he’s imagined the way Alec’s voice is a just a bit rougher than it was before. 

Izzy huffs from behind them and Magnus turns around to find her sprawled on the couch, wine in hand. She looks extremely delighted and raises her eyebrows at Alec in some sort of unspoken communication. 

“Um, I think Chairman is going to be fine, do you want to maybe move from the floor?” Alec asks. 

Magnus realizes then , that the two of them have been crouched in front of the box where Chairman has been giving birth for over an hour now. 

He stands up and offers a hand to Alec who takes it with a smile. 

“Would you like a drink?” he asks, turning on his heel to walk over to the coffee table where he’d left the wine. 

He hands a glass to Alec and watches through his eyelashes as he takes a sip. 

He sees Magnus watching him and seems to smile into the glass, Magnus’ lips quirk up into a smile of their own in response. 

They’ve known each other for barely two hours but there’s something there that Magnus wants to explore. 

They don’t say anything for a long moment, just looking at each other. Magnus admires the way the light from the lamp casts shadows over Alec’s face and the way he’s not exactly smiling but the corner s  of his lips are quirked up just the tiniest bit. 

Magnus feels Izzy kick his leg and turns to find her sprawled out even further on his couch. She swirls her glass and grins at him cheekily. 

“Are you two done?” She asks, “Because I was promised a wine night.”

Alec laughs and rolls his eyes before moving to take up residence in one of Magnus’ armchairs. 

Since Izzy has decided to take up the entire couch, Magnus settles into the second armchair and burrows himself into the cushion. 

The three of them end up talking until late into the night. Alec fits well into the easy bantering he and Izzy have long since established and listening to Izzy and Alec team up to regale him with ever increasingly dramatic stories of their youth is nothing if not thoroughly amusing. 

Magnus finds himself liking Alec. Not just as a pretty face, but because he’s smart and bluntly honest and he smiles at Izzy like she’s his entire world.  He  doesn’t notice the time until Alec sets his glass down on the coffee table and smiles sheepishly at him. 

“It’s getting late,” he says and Izzy nods from the couch, yet makes no move to actually get up.  She’s a bit drunker than the two of them. 

Magnus laughs as Alec rolls his eyes and leans down to try and pull Izzy off the couch. 

“You can stay in my spare room if you’d like,” Magnus suggests , secretly not wanting them to go just yet. 

“That’s nice of you, but it’s okay,” Alec says, having gotten Izzy up and leaning into his side. 

He’s a little tipsy from the wine and they stumble slightly where they’re standing. It’s quite adorable. 

“I’ll call you a cab then,” Magnus says brushing past them to retrieve his phone, “don’t fall over in the meantime.” 

He lets Alec’s amused laughter follow him into the kitchen where he finds his phone. 

***

A few weeks later, Magnus’  loft has been taken over  by tiny kittens that dart around the space and follow Magnus around like adorable little  shadows . 

He carefully side steps one of them waiting for him outside the kitchen and drops onto the couch. 

Three more kittens appear from who knows where, settling in his lap and under his arm. Magnus rolls his eyes but pets their little heads nonetheless. 

“Send me the article and I’ll take a look at it,” he says into the phone. 

He and Izzy had teamed up on a research project and had started up background research as soon as the semester had ended. He’s excited to work with her for the first time and can already tell they’re going to be a great team. 

They’ve been on the phone for hours now and Magnus can tell this is going to end up going well. 

Izzy hums in conformation and Magnus listens as she goes to send him the article. 

When she’s done her voice is more teasing. Magnus can tell that they’re done talking about work. 

“So,” she asks, “how are the kittens?” 

Magnus looks down at the pile of fur crowded around him.

“They’re good,” he says with a smile. 

“Alec keeps asking about them,” Izzy says more suggestively this time, “though I think it’s a cover up for asking about you.” 

Magnus will deny it but his heart rate speeds in his chest when he hears Alec’s name. 

“I don’t know - ” he starts and gets cut off by Izzy. 

“He said you were hot.” 

At that , Magnus sits up straighter on the couch. 

“He has my number right?” he asks. 

He distinctly remembers telling Izzy to give it to Alec after they’d left that night ,  but he hadn’t heard anything for two weeks so he assumed Alec wasn’t interested. 

“You have his too,” Izzy answers and Magnus rolls his eyes. 

“I hate you,” he mutters and Izzy laughs into his ear. 

“Love you too.” 

It takes him a few minutes  and a pep talk  but Magnus eventually ends up calling Alec. 

Alec’s voice is low and smooth when he answers the phone.

“Magnus?” 

Magnus smiles and drops his head onto one of the kittens who is lounging on the armrest. 

“Alexander,” he says, “how are you?” 

“Um—I’m good.” 

He sounds confused and Magnus realizes he needs to come up with some reason that he’s called after not seeing or speaking to Alec for two weeks otherwise he’s going to sound really weird. 

“I was wondering,” he says slowly, “if you wanted to come over to see the kittens. They’ve grown a lot since the last time you saw them.” 

It’s a friendly enough question but Magnus hopes Alec understands the implication. 

“Yeah,” Alec replies, voice soft, “I’d like that.” 

***

That evening when Magnus opens the door for Alec all six of the kittens crowd against the door to greet their new visitor. 

Alec laughs when he sees them and they all meow in high pitched greeting.  He crouches down and lets them crawl all over him. It’s unfairly adorable. 

“They like you,” Magnus says. 

When Alec looks up, their eyes lock and Alec smiles warmly. 

“I do too,” Magnus blurts. 

Alec’s eyes widen and then he laughs. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. I like you,” he repeats, basking in the way Alec’s eyes light up. 

“I like you too ,” Alec says, carefully picking up a kitten from his shoulder and depositing him back on the ground before standing up to face Magnus properly. 

Magnus grins and steps forwards into his space. 

“Maybe we should do something about that.” 

Alec’s eyes dart down to his lips and then back up to his eyes and Magnus takes that as his cue to lean in.

Alec’s lips are soft and Magnus smiles into the kiss as he feels arms wind around his waist and pull him closer. 

When they pull apart he’s still smiling. 

“So,” Alec says, “What do you say to a date? 

“I’d love that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!! 
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated


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